Severe Weather

Severe rainstorms cause massive flooding across Mass.

A flooding warning for Boston and surrounding areas has expired, but weather-related problems persist.

NStar said about 400 Boston area residents were without power Sunday afternoon due to the weather.

The Boston Globe reported that all lanes on Interstate 95 in the area of Route 9 in Framingham reopened after being closed Sunday morning. State police said delays are expected due to minor flooding in construction areas.

Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said a flash flood warning is in effect until 10:15 p.m. for Berkshire county and southern Vermont.

Severe downpours and extremely low visibility on Route 128 just before 9 a.m. caused many drivers in Newton and Needham to pull over into the breakdown lanes.

By 10:30 a.m., up to 3 inches of rain had fallen.

In Needham, two drivers got stranded on Central Avenue due to the high flood waters. Homeowner Linda Sorrentino said she watched while a father rescued his son.

"We saw two cars stuck out in the roadway, and then we came out and we saw this whole area flooded, and I thought, 'We got to get the pumps out,'" Sorrentino said. "The water today was tremendous, so it just came down so fast, it ended up being a flood.”

A lightning strike during the intense morning rainstorm toppled a 100-foot flagpole at a Tufankjian Toyota in Braintree.

"This big, gigantic bolt of lightning came out of the sky,” said witness Kenny Black.

The strike lifted the flagpole right out of its shaft and 15 feet into the air.

"Looks like it was taken apart the way you'd take apart a fishing pole," said dealership owner Greg Tufankjian.

Lightning also damaged Bethany Congregational in Quincy, shattering part of its bell tower.

Showers and thunderstorms will remain in the region into Tuesday.

Copyright 2013 by WCVB.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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